On Thursday, November 10, the Master of Public Health Program at Florida State University officially named G. Mark O’Bryant their annual Public Health Policy Person of the Year.

O’Bryant met with representatives from Florida State in the Devoe L. Moore Center to receive his award and to speak to students about healthcare, career paths within healthcare systems and the future of health policy.

“When you look at communities like Tallahassee, you have to look at what helps make a quality life. More quality health increases the quality of life, and institutions— hospitals like TMHC— help increase the community’s quality of health,” said O’Bryant.

As the president and chief executive officer of Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare (TMHC), O’Bryant has helped facilitate positive changes throughout the hospital’s finances, clinical operations, and patient-physician satisfaction rates since he assumed leadership of TMHC in 2003.

The newly selected Public Health Policy Person of the Year commented on how the Tallahassee community and all of those involved in public health help, “drive us to recognize areas of improvement,” said O’Bryant.

O’Bryant recognized areas of positive development throughout his speech, but the president of TMHC also highlighted roadblocks in progress and areas that still require development.

“These visions for change are just pipe dreams if you don’t have the means to carry them out,” said O’Bryant. “We are non-for-profit and are not supported by local taxes.”

Nevertheless, O’Bryant and his colleagues have created a patient and family-centered care model and continue to address the comprehensive needs of TMHC patient populations.

“We’re also currently focused on becoming more of an academic medical center. More training, more research are pushing us to get better, to make more progress,” said O’Bryant.

During his presentation, O’Bryant relayed his message on advancement and progress with a potent metaphor: “I grew up watching baseball. And the best teams—besides the Yankees who have more money than the U.S. Mint—rely on a farm system to help train from within the organization. And that’s exactly what we’re committed to doing,” said O’Bryant.

The Master of Public Health Program (MPH) and its leaders reviewed several other candidates before ultimately deciding on G. Mark O’Bryant as the most qualified and deserving option.

“The ratings for TMH have increased as he has been there and his colleagues revere him,” said Professor William Weissert, director of Florida State’s Master of Public Health Program.

“The Director of the U.S Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was putting together a small group of healthcare administrators to help improve the quality of this country’s hospital care, and he called on Mark O’Bryant. When someone like that is his advocate, he’s likely a good candidate,” added Weissert.

“His accomplishments stand out among the other candidates. He is a portrait of a true servant leader,” said Weissert. “We are happy to have him in Tallahassee.”